BULLYING

Current Solutions For Bullying In the School SystemBy Daennah Tucker

The Bully Free Song

Did you know?• The word “Bully” use to

mean the total opposite of what it means now.

• Five hundred years ago, it meant friend, family member or sweetheart.

“Bullying” Definition

• Behavior that is intentional, hurtful and repeated by one or more persons.

• Bullied students are teased, harassed, and assaulted verbally or physically.

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Prevention at School

Bullying can threaten students’ physical and emotional safety at school and can negatively impact their ability to learn. The best way to address bullying is to stop it before it starts. There are a number of things school staff can do to make schools safer and prevent bullying.

Getting Started

• Assess school prevention and intervention efforts around student behavior, including substance use and violence. You may be able to build upon them or integrate bullying prevention strategies. Many programs help address the same protective and risk factors that bullying programs do.

Assess Bullying in Your School • Conduct assessments in your school to determine how often

bullying occurs, where it happens, how students and adults intervene, and whether your prevention efforts are working.

Assess Bullying• Assessments—such as surveys—can help schools determine

the frequency and locations of bullying behavior. They can also gauge the effectiveness of current prevention and intervention efforts. Knowing what’s going on can help school staff select appropriate prevention and response strategies.

• Assessments involve asking school or community members—including students—about their experiences and thoughts related to bullying. An assessment is planned, purposeful, and uses research tools.

What an Assessment Can Do

• Assess to:

• Know what’s going on. Adults underestimate the rates of bullying because kids rarely report it and it often happens when adults aren’t around. Assessing bullying through anonymous surveys can provide a clear picture of what is going on.

• Target efforts. Understanding trends and types of bullying in your school can help you plan bullying prevention and intervention efforts.

• Measure results. The only way to know if your prevention and intervention efforts are working is to measure them over time.

What an Assessment Can Do Continued…

• An assessment can explore specific bullying topics, such as:

• Frequency and types• Adult and peer response• Locations, including “hot spots”• Staff perceptions and attitudes about bullying• Aspects of the school or community that may support or

help stop it• Student perception of safety• School climate

Develop And Implement An Assessment

• Schools may choose to use school-wide surveys to assess bullying. There are several steps involved:

• Choose a survey. There are many free, reliable, and validated assessment tools available. Choose a set of measures that covers the questions you want answered, is age appropriate, and can be answered in a reasonable amount of time.

• Obtain parental consent as your district requires. Some allow passive consent, others require active consent. According to federal guidelines, at a minimum, each year the Local Education Agency (LEA), must notify parents about the survey and when it will be conducted. Parents have the right to opt their child out of the survey. Parents also have the right to inspect and review the surveys before they are given.

Develop And Implement An Assessment Continued…

• Administer the survey. School staff are best equipped to judge how to carry out a survey at school, but these tips can help:

• Administer surveys early in the school year. Schedules surveys after students are settled in a routine but there is still time to use the findings in the school year’s prevention efforts.

• Assess at least once every school year. Some schools like to survey students at the start and end of the school year to track progress and plan activities for the following year.

• Decide which students will be surveyed to ensure statistically significant results. Schools may choose school-wide surveys or surveys of specific grades.

• Plan to administer the survey when all students can take it at once. This will reduce the chance that they will discuss it and affect each other’s answers.

Develop And Implement An Assessment Continued…

• Protect student privacy. Many surveys are subject to the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Assure students that their responses will be kept confidential and that their answers can’t be tracked back to them.

• Analyze and distribute findings.

• Make sure you continue to protect students’ privacy by ensuring that no personally identifiable information is accessible.

• Consider how the survey results will be shared with teachers, parents, and students.

• Make sure that you are prepared to respond to the results of the survey. Have a clear plan for prevention and intervention in place or in development.

Engage Parents and Youth

• It is important for everyone in the community to work together to send a unified message against bullying. Launch an awareness campaign to make the objectives known to the school, parents, and community members. Establish a school safety committee or task force to plan, implement, and evaluate your school's bullying prevention program.

Create Policies and Rules

• Create a mission statement, code of conduct, school-wide rules, and a bullying reporting system. These establish a climate in which bullying is not acceptable. Disseminate and communicate widely.

• School staff can help prevent bullying by establishing and enforcing school rules and policies that clearly describe how students are expected to treat each other. Consequences for violations of the rules should be clearly defined as well.

• Types of Rules and Policies• Integrating Rules and Policies into a School’s Culture• Establish a Reporting System

Types of Rules and Policies

There are several types of policies and rules that work to prevent bullying. Each serves a different purpose. For example:

A school mission statement establishes the vision for the school. Everyone should know how they personally help the school achieve this shared goal. Sample Mission Statement [Name of School] is committed to each student’s success in learning within a caring, responsive, and safe environment that is free of discrimination, violence, and bullying. Our school works to ensure that all students have the opportunity and support to develop to their fullest potential and share a personal and meaningful bond with people in the school community.

Types of Rules and Policies Continued…

• A code of conduct describes the positive behaviors expected of the school community. The code of conduct applies to all, sets standards for behavior, and covers a focused set of expected positive behaviors. State laws sometimes specify what must be included in a school’s code of conduct.

• A student bill of rights includes positive things students can expect at school. Keep it short and easy to remember, so it is useful in day-to-day school life.

• Sample Student Bill of Rights• Each student at [school] has a right to:• Learn in a safe and friendly place• Be treated with respect• Receive the help and support of caring adults

Build a Safe Environment

Establish a school culture of acceptance, tolerance and respect. Use staff meetings, assemblies, class and parent meetings, newsletters to families, the school website, and the student handbook to establish a positive climate at school. Reinforce positive social interactions and inclusiveness.

Create a Safe and Supportive Environment

In general, schools can:

Establish a culture of inclusion and respect that welcomes all students. Reward students when they show thoughtfulness and respect for peers, adults, and the school. The Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Technical Assistance Center Exit Disclaimer can help. Make sure students interact safely. Monitor bullying “hot spots” in and around the building. Students may be at higher risk of bullying in settings where there is little or no adult monitoring or supervision, such as bathrooms, playgrounds, and the cafeteria. Enlist the help of all school staff. All staff can keep an eye out for bullying. They also help set the tone at school. Teachers, bus drivers, cafeteria staff, office staff, librarians, school nurses, and others see and influence students every day. Messages reach kids best when they come from many different adults who talk about and show respect and inclusion. Train school staff to prevent bullying.

Set a tone of respect in the classroom. This means managing student behavior in the classroom well. Well-managed classrooms are the least likely to have bullying.

Manage Classrooms to Prevent Bullying

Teachers can consider these ways to promote the respect, positive relations, and order that helps prevent bullying in the classroom:

• Create ground rules.• Develop rules with students so they set their own climate of respect and

responsibility.• Use positive terms, like what to do, rather than what not to do.• Support school-wide rules.• Reinforce the rules.• Be a role model and follow the rules yourself. Show students respect and

encourage them to be successful.• Make expectations clear. Keep your requests simple, direct, and specific.• Reward good behavior. Try to affirm good behavior four to five times for every one

criticism of bad behavior.• Use one-on-one feedback, and do not publicly reprimand.

• Help students correct their behaviors. Help them understand violating the rules results in consequences: “I know you can stop [negative action] and go back to [positive action]. If you choose to continue, then [consequence].”

Classroom Meetings

• Classroom meetings provide a forum for students to talk about school-related issues beyond academics. These meetings can help teachers stay informed about what is going on at school and help students feel safe and supported.

• These meetings work best in classrooms where a culture of respect is already established. Classroom meetings are typically short and held on a regular schedule. They can be held in a student’s main classroom, home room, or advisory period.

» Establish ground rules. Kids should feel free to discuss issues without fear. Classroom meetings are not a time to discuss individual conflicts or gossip about others. Reinforce existing classroom rules.

Classroom Meetings Continued…

• Start the conversation. Focus on specific topics, such as bullying or respectful behaviors. Meetings can identify and address problems affecting the group as a whole. Stories should be broad and lead to solutions that build trust and respect between students. Use open-ended questions or prompts such as: Share an example of a student who helped someone at school this week.

• Without names, share an example of someone who made another student feel bad.

• What did students nearby do? What did you do? Did you want to do something different—why or why not?

• If you could describe the perfect response to the situation what would it be? How hard or easy would it be to do? Why?

• How can adults help?– End the meeting with a reminder that it is everyone’s job

to make school a positive place to learn. Encourage kids to talk to teachers or other trusted adults if they see bullying or are worried about how someone is being treated. Follow-up when necessary. Monitor student body language and reactions. If a topic seems to be affecting a student, follow-up with him or her. Know what resources are available to support students affected by bullying.

Educate Students and School Staff

• Build bullying prevention material into the curriculum and school activities. Train teachers and staff on the school’s rules and policies. Give them the skills to intervene consistently and appropriately.

Educate About Bullying

• Training school staff and students to prevent and address bullying can help sustain bullying prevention efforts over time. There are no federal mandates for bullying curricula or staff training. The following are some examples of options schools can consider.

Activities to Teach Students About

Bullying• Schools don’t always need formal programs to help students

learn about bullying prevention. Schools can incorporate the topic of bullying prevention in lessons and activities. Examples of activities to teach about bullying include:

• Internet or library research, such as looking up types of bullying, how to prevent it, and how kids should respond

• Presentations, such as a speech or role-play on stopping bullying

• Discussions about topics like reporting bullying• Creative writing, such as a poem speaking out against

bullying or a story or skit teaching bystanders how to help– Artistic works, such as a collage about respect or the

effects of bullying– Classroom meetings to talk about peer relations

Evidence-Based Programs and

CurriculaSchools may choose to implement formal evidence-based programs or curricula. Many evaluated programs that address bullying are designed for use in elementary and middle schools. Fewer programs exist for high schools and non-school settings. There are many considerations in selecting a program, including the school’s demographics, capacity, and resources. Also, be sure to avoid Mis-directions in Bullying Prevention and Response.

Credits• Youtube.com• Stopbullyingnow.com• Stopbullying.gov• Ciconline.org